Ranma/DBZ - The Power of Change
by Lord Dark Angel
Summary: What happens when our favorite Neriman martial artist fails saving Akane from Saffron. What if he wasn't just what he seemed??
1. A New Beginning

The Power of Change: 

A Ranma ½/Dragonball Z crossover

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and Dragonball Z both belong to someone OTHER than myself. (Rumiko Takahashi & Akira Toriyama respectively) This is for fun, not profit. 

Enter in the midst of a massive battle. A huge ball of flame strikes a man wearing a torn up Chinese style kung fu outfit. He is blasted backwards through the air and impacts in the side of a hill. The hill erupts in a massive explosion, and when the smoke clears, the man in nowhere to be seen. 

This is Phoenix Mountain in China. The mighty Phoenix King Saffron found himself in a relatively pitched battle upon ascending to godhood. The ceremony was interrupted when our favorite Japanese aqua-transsexual showed up angry over the kidnapping of his friends/fiancés. A mighty battle ensued showing just how powerful Ranma had become. 

"HA! The boy who can not even fly thinks he can match a god. However, the fool boy turned out to be a fast little cockroach. Not many beings exist that can force my hand and cause me to display true power…"

Saffron laughs while flying above the pile of rubble.

Akane… Well, the dried up, nearly dead shell of Akane was what caused this. She needed to be gotten to water fast, or she would die. Ranma attempted a hasty, potentially lethal move: Using the power of Saffron's mighty flame, and the molten wreckage of earth around him, he let off a massive revised Hiryuu Shoten Ha. The power would potentially kill Saffron, but it would propel Ranma towards the waters spilling around into Jusenkyou. 

It half worked. Saffron sensed the Soul of Ice in time to move out of the path of the whirlwind caused by the overpowered technique. It propelled Ranma back with Akane, he desperately tried to get her to the water and save her life, and right as he was about to succeed, a massive blast of fire knocked him sprawling.

As he stands back up and takes stock, he cannot see Akane anywhere. Thinking Akane dead, he berserker-like tried to take on the godly lord Saffron head to head. Getting in return, the blasting of his carcass straight into the hill and the following explosion.

Akane sputters and gasps for air. When Saffron's blast hit behind Ranma, she was shielded from the explosion, but the force of the impact shot her away from Ranma, partly into the water. She, unable to swim, nearly drowned, but managed to get back ashore. She gasps some more and coughs up some water, and takes a look around at what was happening.

She chooses the moment before her fiancé impacts to look around, and watches helplessly as he is caught in the epicenter of an explosion that levels the hill. 

She silently starts to cry. 

"He… He's fine. It's Ranma… He'll be okay…"

Several seconds pass, then a minute, and not a stirring. Suddenly, in desperation, the severity of the situation finally sinking in, Akane scream as loud as she's ever screamed in her life.

"RANMA!! NOOOOOO!!"

Under the rubble a beaten, broken Ranma hears Akane's scream. He can not move a muscle. He can sense his own life force weakening. His body is a mangled wreck. She keeps screaming and all the while the screams echo in his ears until he wishes he could just hurry and die so he wont have to hear it anymore. 

He begins to struggle to break free, despite several broken ribs, a punctured lung, dislocated shoulder and a compound fracture in his right leg. He can barely move.

His anger builds. Because of Saffron, his own failures and the failures of everyone in his life, mostly his father, he knows he can't take it anymore. His anger builds at all his problems, and his energy builds. He forces his ki to flow through his body and make it move.

He can feel the strength build, even though he knows he is weakening. The limbs that shouldn't be able to move are, and just starts ripping at the rock to try to get out. Thrusting his hands up he shatters rock and builds speed. 

Soon he is going much faster than the Amaguriken attack. He can see the light ahead. Against all odds he can see he will escape. He breaks free from the rubble and limps weakly forward. His heavily broken leg won't allow him to carry his own weight, and he collapsed forward.

Akane gasps as she sees Ranma come up, bleeding and broken. She starts to run to help him.

Saffron continues to watch as the maggot breaks the surface and staggers forward. Something is different about the boy. Something Saffron doesn't like.

As Ranma falls, Saffron shouts out to the annoying boy. 

"YOU DAMNABLE PEST! YOU HAVE ANGERED A GOD! I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER!"

Swooping down he snatches Akane up from the ground. Akane starts to scream for Ranma to help her.

Ranma struggles to get up and face Saffron. As he does, Saffron crushes the neck and throat of the still screaming Akane. A sickening crunch is heard and drops her still and lifeless body to the ground, dozens of feet below.

Ranma watches in horror as Saffron kills the one person that he's loved since he was forced to leave his mother all those years ago. Life as it might have been and never will be again flashes in front of his eyes. For only a second he remembers her smile, the caring she can show when the two aren't fighting, and all the good things that have happened over the year he was with her. 

Only one single second second, then with the sound of her neck snapping echoing in his ears, he snaps. 

No one saw it. 

There he was in the rubble and then suddenly he was catching Akane's falling body in his arms 40 feet above the ground. Rather than fall, he rises at Saffron, keeping Akane's limp form lovingly cradled in his arms. With his aura blazing around him, he ascends. His aura grows, changed from his normal blue to a deep crimson.

He looks up at Saffron and a single tear runs down his cheek. 

His aura starts to pulse, changing from crimson to a deep green and back. He suddenly screams out at the sky. His aura blazes larger and larger as Ranmas continued scream echoes. 

His aura begins to expand. It blazes out to a 2 meter diameter, then 5, then 10…. The colors flare and fade… 15… 20 meters… every expanse changing colors. His muscles start to expand as the power starts to course through his body, flashes of white and gold creep through his aura. His braided pigtail comes undone and his hair starts floating about as if in water. All those around him can feel the intensity and the hatred in the ki. 

The unbridled anger, the gigantic increase in his power and the intensity of his feelings makes the air feel thick, his pain and anger tangible. The power they can sense keeps growing, nearly exponentially and his hair starts to form into spikes. It starts to flash from black to gold, the same color of gold as the flashes in his aura. His eyes flash from empty white to an emerald green in time with the changes in his hair and flashes in aura. Finally as the flow of power starts to ebb, his aura explodes out to nearly 400 meters in diameter. His aura changes completely to gold, as does his hair, and shrinks to normal, but now resembles a fire, roaring around his body.

He disappears. 

No one but Saffron is close enough to watch his gentle kiss to Akane's forehead as he sets her down upon the wasted ground of the battlefield below. He ascends again towards Saffron.

Saffron, wordlessly shocked at the entire display, finally starts to laugh. In a whisper heard only by himself, he speaks.

"And I thought her death would break you… How foolish…"

Suddenly he snaps his head back up and glares at Saffron with his bright green eyes and speaks one simple word…

"DIE!"

With that he disappears, suddenly reappearing directly behind Saffron and tapping him on the shoulder.

Saffron slowly turns to face him, to face his awaiting death.

Ranma places his hands, with a growing ball of energy, directly in front of him as Saffron fully faces him. Saffron's eyes widen at the immense amount of power being released into the ball before him, and he tries futilely to get away.

Ranma fires.

The blast expands directly out of his hand and completely engulfs Saffron's body. The blast reaches it's apex and is nearly 40 feet around. It plows into the Phoenix Mountain, and drives down nearly 100 feet before finally exploding. As the explosion continues to grow Ranma stands still, high above the ground in the center. The explosion grows, reaching nearly half a mile in diameter and close to 200 feet high at the center, catching Ranma somewhat in the approximate center of the hemisphere of pure explosive energy. 

When the smoke clears, not even an ash is left of Saffron. Phoenix Mountain was instantly vaporized, and the entire area has been turned to a pit of molten slag. And Ranma stands untouched by the explosion or heat. Not even a scorch mark is left on what remains of his clothing.

He disappears, and Akane's body is missing as well.   
  
Where he has gone unknown to anyone but the one watching from a lookout far away..

The watcher turns around and calls out to his associate.

"I certainly hope the boy remains on our side Mr. Popo… I really do."

Mr. Popo turns to his superior

"What now Kami-san?"

"Mr. Popo… Our little Ranma has found his heritage. We have a new Super Saiya-jin on our hands… May the Supreme Kai help us…"

Authors notes:  
Well all. Here's the first part of the new revision of Power of Change.  
I think it's a little longer, and personally, I think it's quite a bit better.

I'll leave the entire old PoC posted on my website for those of you who want to read it. For the time being, I have (obviously) decided to re-post one chapter at a time while I work on this. I'm going to be removing all of the old PoC on Fanfiction.net, so if you want to read the old stuff cuz you can't get enough of the new first chapter, go to http://fiendangelical.0catch.com/fanfics/fanfics.html


	2. Remembrance

Ranma ½/Dragonball Z: The Power of Change

Chapter 2: Remembrance

By Lord Dark Angel

Disclaimer- If you've seen one disclaimer, you've seen them all. Same old same old… I don't own the characters, it's done for fun not profit, I'm not a writer for a living, and I have no money, so please… Don't sue me. Done and done. On with the fic:

Ranma slowly hovers along on his long route back to the Tendou Dojo. He can't quite understand all of what is happening, at least what he has become. He has attempted to use Herbs flying technique before, but it was way too draining. Whatever new power he has… It wasn't working… Try as he might, he couldn't keep his mind off what was really bothering him…   
  
He gazes down softly at the girl in his arms. This would change everything, and it wasn't going to be fun… Since Ranma first arrived in Nerima, and more specifically, the Tendou home he had stayed at the past year, things had been… Fun. It was the first time he had the chance to settle down somewhere since he was 6. And this lasted a lot longer. And now there were so many people here…. 

His only two friends, Uuchan and Ryouga had shown up early in his stay, and Ryouga had stayed his rival the whole time. Shampoo had proved herself to be a friend, as even Mousse has been at times. Cologne has shown him many things, and Happosai has been fun to try to kick around. Nabiki has a way of keeping you on your toes, Kuno and Kodachi both were nothing but annoying 90% of the time, but even THEY had their moments… Though he can't think of one…

There were friends at school, and the many foes he encountered here… It has been great, in a very weird sort of way. But then, Ranma's whole life is weird… At least here he had people. People he cared about… Above all else there were 3 people he could count on. Despite wanting him as more than a friend, Ukyou has always put aside whatever else was there to help Ranma if he really needed it. Kasumi, Akanes eldest and sweetest sister, always gave Ranma the benefit of the doubt, was the only one who ever showed him kindness no matter what had happened, and was there to talk. And then, there was Akane… He fell in love with her the moment she offered to be his friend.   
  
Love… He allowed the truth to come out… Sadly it was too late for that. It was too late for it soon after it began. Whether she loved him or not… Nothing would ever come of it. She overreacted too much to what happened in his daily life, and was awful to him on most occasions. But he loved her anyway, and went out of his way to protect her to the best of his abilities and beyond.

This time it wasn't enough… He failed. He failed her, he failed her family, and he failed… himself. What could he do though? What is done is done… There's no way to bring back the dead, and no matter how much Ranma wanted it differently, Akane is dead.

He arrives at the Tendou home and goes up to the familiar window of Akanes room. Many nights he spent, wishing he could go in and tell her he cared about her, tell her he was sorry… But it was destined never to happen. Someone would show up to make things worse, or Akane herself would refuse to hear what he wanted to say and it would always enter a downward spiral… No… Things would never work out between them… But knowing this made him love her no less. If she were only alive, if he could only tell her the truth, the depth of his feelings that scared even him, maybe, just maybe she would act differently and prove him wrong…

  
Ifs and what-ifs are all Ranma has as he enters Akanes bedroom and lays her into her bed one last time. He brushes the tears out of his eyes, and the hair out of her face and gazes upon the one he loves. Tears drop and roll down her cold cheek, lending their warmth in a vain attempt to wake her. Ranma dips his head down, and softly kisses her cheek. The power leaves his body, and his hair returns to normal, the green in his eyes replaced by a shade of blue, dulled by the sadness in them. Exhausted, Ranma slowly lays himself on the bed behind her and holds her gently. As he slowly passes into the land of slumber, he whispers something he could never say in her life…   
  
"Akane… I love you."

Authors Notes:  
Rewrite of Chapter 2 down.

This is a COMPLETE rewrite. I had it, oh… 60% done… When stupid Word crashed and lost the whole thing… So I started from scratch, and it was a good, good thing.

This is much longer than the original chapter 2, and much better. The original was only a teaser chapter, but this is a real one. Definite improvement.

Catch ya next time.

And if you're catching this on FF.net, don't forget to check out my homepage:  


Ja ne everybody.

- LDA


	3. The Mourning After

Ranma ½/Dragonball Z: The Power of Change

Chapter 3: The Mourning After…

By Lord Dark Angel

Disclaimer- Once again I don't own any characters used in this fic. Don't sue me. I'm not making any money anyway. I mean period. Not just off the fic. Heheh. Anyway, on with the story…

  
In Tokyo a plane lands and several private passengers get off. A wrinkled old crone thanks the pilots for doing her a favor they owed and flying them all the way to Tokyo. The rest of the group is silent as they walk down and board a train, destination: Nerima ward.

Everyone filed off the train together. They were in two, very solemn groups. The first made up of Ukyou Kuonji, Genma Saotome and Happosai, while the second was Cologne, Shampoo & Mousse. They've all just arrived home to Nerima after an eventful trip to China. 

No one is speaking, but the same thought passes through everyone's mind… They collectively wonder happened in China… This is the morning after Ranma's sudden… arrival home, and the previous few days have left everyone in a shocked state. 

What was left to happen? Where Ranma was, and what was happening here while they had been gone were yet more thoughts. Shampoo had no idea what was going on, and Cologne just wasn't sure what to make of this. Beating out over a century of her wits was just NOT an easy accomplishment, but she was certainly at wits end.

Now, over a little more than a year, god only knows how many things had happened. Somehow everyone survived and had a little fun through most of it, but that all changed on this trip. Had Ranma truly failed, or was everyone under some mass dilution?

Somehow they all knew it was true. Akane had died, and Ranma had flipped over it. Where he had gone to no one knew… Yet…

Ranma woke up next to Akane and had no idea why he was there. He reached out and gently touched her cheek. 

It was like ice. 

He panicked, asking the obvious questions… Was she dead? What happened to her?

He started trying to shake her awake when the memories of the previous day all flooded back to him, and he collapsed on the floor.

The loud thump of a body dropping was heard by all three remaining members of the Tendou family. They all rushed upstairs following the sound and were greeted by a most unwelcome site. Ranma collapsed and sobbing on the floor, and the sickeningly pale Akane with glazed eyes and the horrible bruised and broken neck, more than obviously dead. Kasumi fainted before she could even say her usual 'Oh my', and Nabiki dropped to the floor using all her icy defense to keep from ending up like Ranma… That's about when Soun started the real waterworks, while trying to Demon Head an answer out of Ranma.

Ranma noticed the scene unfolding and braced for what he was sure was coming soon. He knew the Tendous would never forgive him. He couldn't even forgive himself. He had to get out. And fast. Ranma bolted out the window crying, tears staying in place longer than he did. He knew he was being a coward, but even Ranma could only take so much at once. Having the people he most considered family hate him to his face on top of losing Akane was too much… So he showed the true Saotome School color, yellow, and ran from his problems the way his pop had taught him to.

Ukyou was just opening her door as she felt a rush of air. As she turned around, the sight of a haggard and depressed Ranma near collapsing shook her out of this morning's reverie and she dropped her bag and ran to him. He virtually collapsed into her arms, and started his sobbing yet again. Ukyou rushed to help get Ranma inside and into a seat. 

After a while, Ranma finally stopped crying, but Ukyou kept consoling him. When he felt better, he explained where he had gone, and what had just happened, and how alone he felt. He had run out of the Tendou home and trudged around the city the whole morning, but when he finally calmed down, he realized he had no where else to go, so he sought out his only real friend. 

And that was it. He just needed to be with someone he could trust and could comfort him. For once there was no fiancé bickering, she was just the friend he needed when he needed her, and after a while she helped the still exhausted Ranma up stairs to her bed and let him sleep. Deep down she warred with herself… Part of her told her this was a perfect opportunity to get her fiancé back. The entire rest of her person bashed that part with a giant mental spatula, calling it a jackass, and telling it that one of her friends died and her best friend needed her help. So that part can just go to hell.

Cologne, Shampoo & Mousse got back to the Nekohanten and proceeded to start to deal with things in their own way. Which is to say that Cologne, being the not entirely heartless old crone figured Ranma needed his time. Shampoo on the other hand, being completely naïve, started trying to find out where Ranma had gone, just knowing he needed her. And Mousse… Well he refrained from hitting on Shampoo and went up to his room. Even Mousse isn't completely stupid, and the finality of what happened wasn't completely lost, even on him.

After a while, Cologne was fed up with how Shampoo had been acting, and had a long talk with her. When that was over she decided to get a hold of the Tendous and make sure things were… Well, livable... 

When they called the Tendou residence, things began to come into place. It seemed that Ranma had gone there but no one there knew where he was now. The story of that morning was recalled with many tears. Genma had gotten there later, and he had to be the one to explain what had happened. After the threats of death and calling Nodoka, he actually told the truth to the best of his abilities. 

Shortly thereafter Soun had called Nodoka to see if Ranma had been there and she was on her way over. Cologne realized that Ranma only really had one other place to go if he wasn't here, and as long as Kuonji was as good a friend as Ranma thought, she would leave it alone for now. Not even Cologne is totally devoid of compassion. She kept the information to herself and decided to rest after the trip. After encouraging Shampoo to do the same, and Mousse to work on getting the restaurant ready to be opened the next day, she retired to her room.

Meanwhile Nabiki realized the same thing, and was at war. She knew that Ranma needed his time, if the fact that he actually _CRIED_ was a clue… And where he had gone was not really his choice alone, since he had no where else to go… For now, the Tendous had coping of their own to do, so she'd leave the hateful things she had to say for some time later…

Genma had Nodoka to deal with as he had to explain as best he could once again how events had unfolded, and worse yet, there was no way for him to lie his way out of anything this time. He just wished he knew where his ungrateful boy had gone off to so he could make Ranma deal with all this rather than having to do it himself.

Ranma meanwhile slept as peacefully as he could in the arms of his childhood friend. Ukyou, for her part, was trying her best to comfort the friend she loved so dearly. She knew how it felt to lose someone. She had lost Ranma for nearly 10 years before, but there was always the thought of finding him, whether to beat him or marry him… It was worse for him. He had to know Akane was never coming back, so for her part in everything over the last year, she felt she owed Ranma something. If this is what he needed, it what he would have. Deep in the back of her mind, the selfish part of her was trying to untie itself and remove the gags so it can start telling her to keep Ranma for herself again… Now, she kinda understood why the rest of her psyche had to use titanium cable instead of rope, but _REALLY_… What was the point of putting on _17_ gags? This was harsh…

In a place far away watching the different scenes unfold, a green skinned guardian of earth by the name of Kami decided that people needed to be told what was happening and sent a summons to the Z senshi who were back on earth. 

Things were going to get very interesting soon, so he was going to have to head things off before they turned ugly… Gohan and Kurillin were the first to be called upon, since they were the easiest to deal with. The rest of the Z senshi were still in other world… So the others left were Piccolo and Vegeta… Kami would save them for later. Ranma would be hard enough to deal with, without Vegetas interference. Piccolo, on the other hand, had mellowed out some. He could send Gohan to get him.

  
Kami sighs to himself. This was going to be a long week.


End file.
